For most of my 37 years on this planet I have been
relatively healthy. That is kind of an amazing feat, considering my family
history of diseases and maladies, both rare and common. Heart issues run
rampant on both sides of my family. Diseases such as dementia, glaucoma, and
cataracts are also common, along with high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
and arthritis. Those are just the “normal” health issues that many people face.
But in my family, we also have our fair share of abnormal conditions. My sister
has Pompe’s Disease, which is a glycogen storage disease that affects the
muscles. It is very rare, only affecting around 1 in 40,000 births. My mother
has Factor 5 blood clotting disorder, another rare disorder that only affects about
5% of the population. My daughter was born with a rare disease called Biliary
Atresia, which affects 1 in 15,000 to 20,000 births. It is fatal if not caught
in time, and although an initial procedure called a Kasai can be done, it is
not always successful. Many babies (including
Bittle) end up needing a liver transplant – again, another rare procedure. So you could see how I’ve surmised how lucky I
am regarding my own good health. However, my luck has recently hit a snag.
A little over a year ago, I started experiencing serious
neck and shoulder pain. At first I thought I did something to myself when I was
working out so I stopped. Then I thought maybe I was sleeping the wrong way.
Then I blamed the pain on sitting at the computer for too long, which I do
quite a bit as a writer. As time passed, the pain seemed to get worse. But
since I admittedly have a bit of a God complex, I kept thinking it was in issue
I could fix, instead of consulting a doctor. Finally, I couldn’t take the pain
anymore. My neck, shoulder and upper back hurt so much that I could barely move
by the end of the day and I was having frequent headaches. So a few weeks ago I
decided to go to the doctor. After he took what seemed like half of my blood for
about a billion tests and undergoing a few CT scans, I had my answers.
My doctor told me the good news first – he said that my head
CT was normal. (I started to take out a notebook from my purse to take notes
with, but he assured me I would get a printout of what we talked about. I then
asked him to list the statement “Head CT is normal” at the top of the printout
in bold letters, so I have proof and can show it to certain people who doubt my
sanity sometimes. You know, like my children, John, and my parents.) Then he
said that I had high cholesterol, but it could be controlled with diet and
exercise and gave me tips on how to lower the bad cholesterol but keep the good
cholesterol high. (Here is yet another shameless plug for my love of red wine,
as it is probably a factor in keeping my good cholesterol number high.)
But
then he told me the doozy: I have fairly progressive arthritis in my neck.
That’s what has been causing the excruciating pain I have been feeling for over
a year.
To be quite honest, the high cholesterol diagnosis along
with arthritis really threw me for a loop, considering how healthy I’ve been
all my life. I associate cholesterol issues and arthritis with people who are
overweight and, well, old. I’m 5’2” and 110lbs, which is certainly not
overweight. And let’s not forget, I’m 37, not 67. My doctor was very
understanding of my reaction and offered tips and advice for dealing with
arthritis. Before leaving the office I received a shot of something called
Toradol, something I had never heard of, along with a prescription for
high-test 500mg Naproxen, which I was to take twice a day for 10 days. When I
called John from the parking lot, he told me Toradol is given to football
players to get them back into the game after an injury. I thought that was
super, as I was headed to Krogers and a pain numbing shot could make grocery
shopping so much easier.
For about a week, I had no pain. But then I started
developing chest pains and ended up in the ER – most likely a result of the
high-test NSAIDs running through my bloodstream. Needless to say, that also
scared the bejesus out of me.
Immediately following my diagnosis from my doctor, I had
made a few dietary changes. A few days after the trip to the ER I started doing
my beloved P90X again. (I have a love/hate relationship with that maniac, Tony
Horton.) Since making the changes and adapting to a regular exercise routine I
have felt better and the pain in my neck is minimal. I’m really hoping it stays
that way.
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